Filenames Lister (By Abratolm)

As convenient as the digital data format is, its proneness to corruption during power outages or system errors should not be taken lightly, which is why making multiple and frequent backups is a surefire way to safeguard your documents, photos and programs. In order to avoid losing track of the changes made to one of the hard drives containing copies of your personal items, a lightweight utility known as Filenames Lister (By Abratolm) comes into play, packaged in an accessible format.

Launching the app summons a compact interface in a non-resizable window featuring a top-placed address bar where users can quickly paste the location of the source folder, or open a file picker and navigate to it manually, depending on their preferences and computer usage patterns. Once scanned, the resulting list can be viewed in its dedicated Output section, from which certain chunks of the selectable text can be copied to the clipboard for those who wish to index the contents of their backup storage devices.

Alternatively, the app lets you export the results in the form of a YML or text file for those who wish to add the summary of a given folder’s structure to the backup drives in order to save time when searching for a particular file or directory, or to create a timeline with the changes made to a location when archiving various files. In terms of improvements, viewing the extension at the end of each filename in the output list would be helpful when trying to discern photo files from executables, for instance.

Moreover, due to its portable format, the program can be easily added to on-the-go USB flash drive-powered setups for those who tend to switch between their work and personal devices without having to worry about synchronizing specific application settings over the cloud. Finally, thanks to its open source license, those with programming experience can make suggestions or fork the repository to create custom versions featuring changes that fit their preferences.

Whether you wish to monitor and archive the changes made in the structures of a server-based directory that can be accessed by multiple parties, or you want to ensure the multiple chains of offline storage-based backups are up-to-date, without having to rely on terminal-powered commands, Filenames Lister (By Ambratolm) may come in handy, given its accessible layout and fast-paced user experience.